Over 700 civil society organisations on Friday said the use of the Foreign Currency Regulation Act (FCRA) by the government had brought down their foreign funding by 50 per cent (from over ₹14,000 crore in 2013-14 to over ₹7,000 crore now) in the past two years, impacting their work among the marginalised sections, such as Dalits, tribals, the elderly, women, HIV/AIDS affected, among others.

Addressing a joint press conference here, Venkatesh Nayak of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, accused the government of practising “double standards” by targeting NGOs on technical grounds and taking away their eligibility for foreign funding, while approving an amendment to allow political parties to receive foreign funds.

While admitting that the NGO sector does need regulation, Nayak questioned why the FCRA proposed jail sentence in some cases, whereas the Foreign Exchange Management Act for corporates had no jail sentence for a single offence.

Calling for a structured dialogue on the issue with the government, food rights activist Biraj Patnaik said 300 civil society organisations had written to the Home Ministry and the Prime Minister, but there had been no response.

CSR funds Squeezed for funds as even foreign donors were under pressure or on a ‘watch list’, the sector said it was turning to Indian donors to carry on their work, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.

But the lion’s share of CSR funds is going to corporate foundations, to building toilets and the list of permissible activities, not for Dalit, tribal, food, gender or health rights, Patnaik added. Mathew Cherian of Helpage India, representing the Voluntary Action Network of India, said the attempt to “erode the credibility” of NGOs was a “worrisome trend”, as most of India’s civil society organisations had got global recognition for their work to strengthen democracy.

“There are about 1.2 million NGOs in India and about 12.7 million people work in the sector. Civil society has made a huge contribution to strengthening democracy by fighting for Right to Information, Right to Education, access to cheaper medicines, among others,” he said.

The organisations said the worst hit were smaller grassroots NGOs that work in remote areas. “It is only over the last 10 years that the Dalit community has been able to access foreign contribution resources for empowerment and welfare,” said Paul Divakar of the National Campaign for Dalit Rights.

Representing Lawyers Collective, whose licence was cancelled recently, its founding member Anand Grover said: “Why is the government cracking down on NGOs while allowing corporates to get any amount of foreign funds? They get seats in government and can do any amount of lobbying. Do all of them serve the national interest?”

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